Misc. Quotes and Book references
The following are from the Dungeons and Dragons 5e Monster Manual. Each one is given a page were it can be found Quotes "Give me a hundred Azer slaves, and I can forge an empire that would make the gods tremble." -Arakses Al-Saqar, Efreeti Pasha (pg 22) "I've already eaten three giant bats, six troglodytes, and a mind flayer today, but that's okay. Plenty of room in my belly for you and your friends" Lludd the Behir, confronting adventurers in the Lost Caverns of Tsojcath (pg 25) "A cluster of tiny lights descended from a dark crevice in the ceilings. These motes cast an eerie glow on the great, alien skull that hung beneath them" – From the journal of Jastus Hollowquill, Explorer of Undermountain (pg 29) "They crawl from their mothers' wombs to spread corruption throughout the multiverse. What's not to love?" -Baba Yaga (pg 36) "I hear centaurs make excellent mounts!" -Batley Summerfoot, a halfling adventurer who never read Hooves of Fury, by Irvil Grayborn of Sundown (pg 38) "Makes you wonder what can be done with all those other murderer parts, doesn't it?" -Evangeliza Lavain, Necromancer (pg 44) "Remind me again why we're on this quest?" Ethelrede the Fighter, after his first Darkmantle encounter (pg 46) "I, Acererak the Eternal, beckon you to your doom. Come, foolish ones, plunder my treasures if you dare! Others have tried, all have failed! From your skin, tapestries shall be woven, and your bones will carpet my tomb. Only I am beyond death's reach. Only I know the secret to true immortality!" Epitaph of a Demilich (pg 48) "They have no pity for this damnable wrech. Bloody thing could grow up to be a demon lord one day" -Emirikol the Chaotic (pg 60) "The temple was strewn with body parts. We concluded that the cultists had summoned a powerful demon and not lived to regret it. Not wanting to get hacked to pieces ourselves, we cut short out expedition and returned to the village of Hommlet with our tails between our legs. Rufus and Burne had a good laugh at our expense, let me tell you." -Nelume, a young half elf wizard, chronicling her one and only visit to the temple of Elemental Evil (pg 61) "Your war-torn kingdom is rife with corruption, its people dying from starvation and strife. They cry out for new leadership – someone with the charisma and the courage to put an end to the turmoil and suffering. You could be that someone!" - Herobaal the Pit Fiend (pg 77) "Fly, my pretties, fly! FLY!" -Fierna, archduchess of Phlegethos, commanding her spined devil legions (pg 78) "I see an ancient elf king, his majesty long since faded, slumped and half asleep in his throne. A green draon whispers in the king's ear, corrupting and twisting the king's dreams. This dragon's name is Cyan Bloodbane, and he meanas the destruction of us all." -Pelios of Ergoth, Silvanesti seer (pg 96) "I failed the Spider Queen once. Never again" -Pellanistra the Drider (pg 120) "Such depravity. Such terrifying cruelty. They are the vile poison that plauges all elvenkind" -Nelar Autumnwell, Elf cleric of Corellon Larethian "Welcome to the Great Dismal Delve, gem of the Inner Planes. You are now slaves of the mighty and merciful Khatun Zafara Al'Yil Jin Zarain, Queen of the Mantled Depths, Pontiff of the Diamond Cathedral, Protector of the Malachite Scepter, and so on and so forth" -Gargoyle Seneschal's Standard Greeting (pg 143) "The armies of the Grand Sultan are bolstered by legions of devils, his palace warded by the spells of a thousand archmagi, his treasures guarded by Red Dragons and fire elementals. No one has plundered the efreeti's fabled vaults and lived to tell the tale. By the grace of a thousand winds, you could be the first." - A Djinni enticing adventurers to free her caliph from a magic lamp in the Charcoal Palace of the City of Brass (pg 145) "The marid poured out of the flask like water and said, 'Your wish is my command.' The halfling, overjoyed, wished for immortality, so the marid polymorphed him into a fish that flopped around humorously until, finally, it expired. It's a cautionary tale that has survived through the ages, so I suppose the halfling got his wish." - Kesto Brighteyes, gnome proprietor of the Parted Veil, a bookshop in Sigil (pg 146) "Boulders assailed our walls and cast them down, leavin' gaps through which the giants strode, weapons in hand." - Captain Dwern Addlestone's partial account of the Siege of Sterngate (pg 149) "And here is where Angerroth the Barbarian fell against the giant horde. His bones under that boulder over there" – Elder Zelane of Istivin, recounting the Giant Wars (pg 151) "The Githyanki and Githzerai were so profoundly scarred by their enslavement to the mind flayers that they forgot they were one race, united. Having won their freedom, they wage war against each other with a hatred none can fully comprehend" – Aristul the Yellow, Master of Planar Lore (pg 159) "If you want soldiers or thugs, hire hobgoblins. If you want someone clubbed to death in there sleep, hire bigbears. If you want mean little fools, hire goblins." - Stalman Klim, Slave Lords (pg 165) "Beyond the unopenable doors lay a grand hall ending before a towering stone throne, upon which sat an iron statue taller and wider than two men. In one hand it clutched an iron sword, in the other, a feather whip. We should have turned back." - Mordenkainen the archmage, chronicling his party's harrowing exploits in the dungeons below Maure Castle (pg 167) "Two of my gravediggers were caught and hanged yesterday. The other two are understandably reluctant to meet a similar fate, but I shan't let their concerns stall my progress. I need fresh corpses, and if those bumpkins can't get them for me, I'll use theirs instead." - From the Diary of Evangeliza Lavain, Necromancer (pg 169) "They break before our shields, they fall beneath our blades, their home is our to conquer, their children our slaves. Archeron! Archeron! Victory is ours!" - Translation from a Hobgoblin War Chant (pg 186) "Don't cry. We have no intention of eating your brain. In fact, your brain is going on a wonderful journey!" - Qorik El-Slurrk, Mind Flayer (pg 191) "If you hear a baby crying in an alley, walk the other way. That's my advice to you" – Endroth Knag, city watch corporal in Waterdeep (pg 194) "They invent their own gods...the very definition of insanity" – Sabal Mizzrym of Menzoberranzan (pg 199) "In all my dealings with the Lizardfolk, I was never able to tell what they were thinking. Their reptilian eyes belied no hint of their intentions. I gave them supplies. They gave me the willies" – A merchant's account of his experience with the Lizardfolk tribes of the Lizard Marsh (pg 205) "The Company of the Black Moon – They used to be adventurers loyal to the realm. Now they roam the woods as a pack of werewolves. The king has promised estates, titles, and gold to anyone who can undo the curse afflicting them. I, for one, have no interest in such rewards." - Thornstaff, Elf Druid (pg 211) "Manticores love the taste of human flesh. That's why, on trips through the mountains, I always travel with human guards." - Marthok Uldarr, Dwarf copper merchant (pg 213) "Every 289 years, the entire multiverse goes mad. Like clockwork" – Kwint Stormbellow, Rock Gnome adventurer (pg 225) "If you destroy me, I will return, and everyone you care about will suffer for it" – Explictica Defilus Spirit Naga (pg 234) "Worst. Dancers. Ever" Riddlediffle the Sayter, on Ogres (pg 238) "Lock the Door, blow out the light; The hungry Oni haunts the night. Hide and tremble, little one; See its shadow cross the floor. The sun won't rise for quite a white; Till then, beware the Oni's smile." - Children's Rhyme (pg 239) "The dungeon's floor were spotless. That should have been our first clue." - From the journal of Jaster Hollowquill, on his first exploration of Undermountain (pg 242) "He worked his serrated long knife sagely, tearing out the king's thoat to the howls of approval from his legions. The ferocious orc didn't stop there, digging and ripping the blade back and forth unrelentingly until he took the head off the dwarf king's shoulders" – An account of War Chief Hartusk's brutality in the aftermath of the Battle of Cold Vale (pg 245) "The only good thing about owlbears is that the wizard who created them is probably dead" – Xarshel Ravenshadow, Gnome Professor of Transumation science at Morgrave University (pg 249) "Behold, the pegasus. It can outrace a dragon in the open sky, and only the best among us can ever hope to ride one. A fitting emblem for our great house, don't you think?" - Tyllenvane d'Oren dragonmarked scion arguing to change the symbol of House Orien from the Unicorn to the Pegasus (pg 250) "Petal gowns and acorn caps are so last summer!" - Rivergleam, Pixie fashionista (pg 253 "Slay me once, shame on you. Slay me twice, shame on me." - Rakshasa Maxim (pg 257) "Destroyed me hammer and me axe, it did. Put me faith to the test that day, it did." - Brawn Thunderstones, Dwarf Paladin of Dumathoin (pg 262) "The village was empty, the seagulls were strangely quiet, and all we could hear was the surge of the sea." - An account of the aftermath of a sahuagin raid (pg 263) "Twixt day and night the spirits goad me; They pine for ages past when hearts were pure; Against all reason now they seem unsure; they laugh and scream between mine ears anon; Now fill my cup not once, not twice, but thrice; With flagon's brim upon my lips I dance; let unseen pixies toss their gowns askance; (theres a lot more) " -Sonnet of a naughty satyr (pg 267) "Embedded in a slaad's brain is a magic gem. Aquire it, and the Slaad is yours to command" (pg 277) "Round she is, yet flat as a board; Alter of the Lupine Lords; Jewel on black velvet, pearl in the sea; Unchanged but e'erchanging, eternally" – Riddle of the Gynosphinx of White Plume Mountain (pg 280) "The tree had a wee village nestled in its boughs, I swear. Next thing I knew, I was lyin' face-down in the dirt. My head was full of stars, an' when I stood up an' looked around, both the tree an' the wee village were gone" – Tale of a Half-Orc Ranger (pg 283) "Smells like an orc's loincloth in here!" - Last words of Arlax Hammermantle, Dwarf Spelunker (pg 290) "The wall caved in. That's the last thing I remember" – A survivor's account of an umber hulk attack (pg 292) "I am the ancient, I am the land. My beginnings are lost in the darkness of the past. I was the warrior, I was good and just. I thundered across the land like the wraith of a just god, but the war years and the killing years wore down my soul as the wind wears down stone into sand" – Count Strahd von Zarovich (pg 295) "On your guard! That's not the wind howling!" - Kelesta Hawke of the Emerald Enclave (pg 305) "Power. We all crave it, but only a select few of us deserve it" Shemeshka the Marauder, Arcanaloth in Sigil (pg 312) "After Beek died, we cast an Animate Dead spell on his corpse. It was fun for a while, but the zombie started to smell real bad, se we doused it in oil and set it on fire. Beek would've found that hilarious" Fonkin Hoddypeak, on friendship (pg 316) Book References "Could it be that aboleths are older than the gods...that before the divine ones came to be, such horrors shaped the multiverse? Now there's a chilling thought" -Vaquir Zekh'r, githzerai philosopher and author of The Far Realm: Realm yet Unreal (pg 14) "Demons are painfully difficult to summon and control. It is not a burden for the weak of heart or the weak of spirit" -From the DEMONOMICON OF IGGWILV (pg 55) "They lived by the sword and kill by the sword. Their beauty is nothing compared to their wrath" – from ''The Book of Vile Darkness ''(pg 73) "The more rigid the physical form, the less likely the golem is to lose its sense of purpose. The clay ones can be a bit twitchy" – Words of warning in the ''Manual of Clay Golems ''(pg 168) "Our intrepid rogue climbed up the shaft to secure a rope. There was a gasp, and the rope fell. We never saw her again." - An adventurer's account of a grell attack in Khyber, published in ''The Korranberg Chronicle ''(pg 172) "A kraken dreams of casting its tentacles into the heavens and strangling that which birthed it, and when it's dream exceeds its reach, it settles for the occasional passing ship" – From ''Night of the Kraken Cult ''by Malferore Serrang, Pirate-Mage of Tethyr (pg 197) "The Yuan-ti cast off their humanity long ago, and with it, their sanity" – From the ''Masters of the Forbidden City ''by Codo Vidak (308) Books [[Legends of the Sea (Book)|Legends of the Sea]